left seat

I am currently finishing a build, a 1/4 scale Sig Cub on floats. The engine I'm using is a OS 160 Gemini twin. I got the engine from a buddy who broke the engine in but never flew with it. He suggested that I install an onboard glow ignition system that would help prevent one or both glow plugs from flaming out during flight. I'm confused, wouldn't constant power going to the glow plugs shorten the life span of the plugs? After all, when we start a single piston engine the first thing we do after engine start up is remove the glow igniter. Can you recommend an onboard igniter that would either provide a low enough voltage that would not compromise the life span of the plugs or an igniter that would shut itself off after the engine is running. It would be very convenient to have onboard glow as security against flame out, if there is such a thing, and ease of starting without having to attach a glow igniter. I'm new to this idea and would appreciate any advise on which way to proceed.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Most onboard glo systems only come on at low throttle as an engine rarely looses fire at higher speeds. Not sure of sources these days as I haven't used one in years. They work great though and eliminate the need for separate glo batteries for starting.

RBACONS

My Feedback: (3)

Definitely want an on-board glow with the 1.60 twin. McDaniels, Sonic Tronics, and ElectroDynamics make dual-cylinder on-board glow drivers, to name a few. In addition to being able to set them to come on below a certain throttle setting, you can also set them to come on via a transmitter switch. That way, if you lose a cylinder in flight, you can momentarily re-apply power to the plugs without having to chop the throttle. You can also make your own glow driver from a 1.2V 3000 mAh Sub-C cell, some 18 ga silicone wire, glow plug connectors w/boots from Radical RC, and a standard servo (to open/close the circuit).

TomCrump

I agree. These are solid brands with good reputations. I have a McDaniels on board glow in my 4 cylinder powered Luscombe and the Electro Dynamics unit on my 1.60 twin powered Lockheed Vega.